DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE PICTURED ROCKS NATIONAL LAKESHORE MUNISING, MICHIGAN and LOCAL 2192, NATIONAL FEDERATION OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES, FEDERAL DISTRICT I, IAM&AW, AFL-CIO

United States of America

BEFORE THE FEDERAL SERVICE IMPASSES PANEL

In the Matter of

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
PICTURED ROCKS NATIONAL LAKESHORE
MUNISING, MICHIGAN

and

LOCAL 2192, NATIONAL FEDERATION

OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES, FEDERALDISTRICT I, IAM&AW, AFL-CIO

Case No. 06 FSIP 57

DECISION AND ORDER

The Department of the Interior, National
Park Service (NPS), Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (PIRO), Munising, Michigan
(Employer or NPS) and Local 2192, National Federation of Federal Employees,
Federal District 1, IAM&AW, AFL-CIO (Union or NFFE), jointly filed a request
for assistance with the Federal Service Impasses Panel (Panel) to consider a
negotiation impasse under the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute
(Statute), 5 U.S.C. § 7119.

After
investigation of the request for assistance, which involved three articles
arising from negotiations over the parties' successor collective bargaining
agreement (CBA), the Panel determined that the dispute should be resolved
through a face-to-face informal conference with Special Assistant to the
Chairman Victoria L. Dutcher (Panel Representative). The parties were informed
that, if a complete settlement were not reached during the informal conference,
the Panel Representative would notify the Panel of the status of the dispute.
The notification would include, among other things, the final offers of the
parties and recommendations to the Panel for resolving the issues. The parties
also were informed that, after considering the entire record, the Panel would
resolve the dispute by taking whatever action it deemed appropriate, which could
include the issuance of a binding decision.

In accordance
with the Panel's procedural determination, the Panel Representative met with the
parties at an NPS facility in Empire, Michigan, on July 6, 2006. During the
course of the informal conference, the parties reached voluntary agreements on
Article 4, Section 3, Management Rights; and Article 26, Section 9, Union
Training. Efforts to resolve their dispute over Article 11, Section 2,
Volunteers and Government-Sponsored Work Programs, however, were unsuccessful.
At the conclusion of the informal conference, the parties' submitted their final
offers on the remaining issue. As the parties' positions were fully developed
and explored during the meeting with the Panel Representative, they were not
asked to submit written summary statements of position.1/ The Panel now has
considered the entire record in rendering its decision in this case.

BACKGROUND

The Employer's
primary mission is conservation and preservation of the recreational area along
Lake Superior that is used for hiking, camping and snowmobiling. It provides
visitor information services and maintains the park's facilities and trails. The
Union represents a bargaining unit of 14 permanent employees, including Wage
Grade employees who maintain the facilities, General Schedule clerical employees
who work in the park office, and park rangers who are law enforcement officers.
In addition, every year the Employer hires seasonal employees who become part of
the bargaining unit represented by the Union; for the purpose of this document,
seasonal workers are employed by the NPS from 6 to 11 months per year. The
Employer also uses volunteers under the Volunteers-in-parks (VIP) Program.2/ The
parties' most recent CBA, which was to expire on June 27, 2005, remains in
effect until a successor agreement is implemented.

ISSUE AT IMPASSE

The parties'
disagreement essentially involves the level of protection the CBA should provide
to ensure that seasonal employees are not displaced by park volunteers.

POSITIONS OF THE PARTIES

1. The Union's Position

The Union's final offer is the following:

In accordance with law, non-employee workers such as
volunteers and enrollees of Government-sponsored work programs will not
displace employees or positions or their grade-controlling duties. No NPS
employee will be required or requested to perform as a volunteer. A
volunteer or enrollee will not be given unfair preference or advantage for
appointment to NPS positions at PIRO (Pictured Rocks).

The Union contends that its proposal generally maintains the status
quo, as reflected in the CBA provision currently in effect.3/ Its purpose is
to protect current seasonal employees from displacement by volunteers, and
discourage management from using volunteers to perform the
"grade-controlling duties" that establish career experience and may
directly tie to advancement within the NPS. During their employment, seasonal
workers become bargaining-unit employees (BUE). Volunteers may gain work
experience similar to that of paid seasonal employees; the Employer should not
favorably consider this experience when a former/current seasonal employee and
former/current volunteer apply for the same posted vacancy. Thus, the Union's
proposal would make it more difficult for volunteers to compete for paid
seasonal or permanent positions, thereby preserving bargaining-unit jobs for
those with work experience as a seasonal employee. In addition, the proposal is
similar to wording in the CBA of an adjacent Federal entity, the Hiawatha
National Forest.

2. The Employer's Position

The Employer proposes the following wording:

The Employer is authorized to recruit, train, and accept
without regard to the civil service classification laws, rules, or
regulations, the services of individuals without compensation as volunteers
for or in aid of interpretive functions, or other visitor services or
activities. The Employer will not terminate the employment of any current
employee solely for the purposes of replacing that current employee with a
volunteer.

Its final offer eliminates the ambiguities of the current
contract language while restating management's obligation under the law creating
the VIP program.4/ At the same time, it preserves the Employer's discretion to
hire the best-qualified person for a position. It's proposed wording also would
not perpetuate positions simply because they once existed, a situation that
would greatly restrict necessary budget flexibilities. In summary, it allows the
Employer to manage the VIP Program successfully, protect the interests of the
BUEs, and fully consider job applicants' knowledge, skills and abilities in a
manner that best meets the needs of the park and its ever-changing priorities.
The Union's proposal, on the other hand, is inconsistent with the intent and
spirit of the law and agency guidance concerning implementation of the VIP
Program. It artificially veils the experience of former/current volunteers from
consideration for a posted vacancy, and could lead to additional grievances5/
over the filling of vacancies.

CONCLUSIONS

Having carefully considered the arguments and evidence
presented in this case, we conclude that the Employer's final offer provides the
better basis for resolving the parties' dispute. The Employer's final offer,
which essentially incorporates into the parties' CBA the requirements of the
legislation creating the VIP Program, is sufficient to protect the Union's
interests. Accordingly, we shall order its adoption.

ORDER

Pursuant to the authority vested in it by the Federal Service
Labor-Management Relations Statute, 5 U.S.C. § 7119, and because of the failure
of the parties to resolve their dispute during the course of proceedings
instituted under the Panel's regulations, 5 C.F.R. § 2471.6(a) (2), the Federal
Service Impasses Panel under § 2471.11(a) of its regulations hereby orders the
following:

NPS's VIP Program was authorized by Public Law
91-357 enacted in 1970. The primary purpose of the VIP Program is to
provide a vehicle through which the NPS can accept and utilize voluntary
help and services from the public.

Article
11, Section 2 of the current CBA, titled "VOLUNTEERS AND
GOVERNMENT SPONSORED WORK PROGRAMS," states:

In accordance with law, non-employee workers such as
volunteers and enrollees of government sponsored work programs will not
displace employees or positions or their grade-controlling duties. No
NPS employees will be required or requested to perform as a volunteer.
Volunteer's or other enrollee's experience will not be used to give
unfair preference or advantage for appointment to NPS government
sponsored work programs.

The Secretary of the Interior (hereinafter, referred to
as the Secretary) is authorized to recruit, train, and accept without
regard to the civil service classification laws, rules, or regulations
the services of individuals without compensation as volunteers for or in
aid of interpretive functions, or other visitor services or activities
in and related to areas administered by the Secretary through the
National Park Service. In accepting such services of individuals or
volunteers, the Secretary shall not permit the use of volunteers in
hazardous duty or law enforcement work or in policymaking processes, or
to displace any employee: Provided, that the services of individuals
whom the Secretary determines are skilled in performing hazardous
activities may be accepted.

In this regard, the current contract provision
was the subject of a decision by the Federal Labor Relations Authority
(FLRA) in United States Department of the Interior, National Park
Service, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Munising, Michigan and National
Federation of Federal